Former Wales international John Hartson has told BBC Sport that Swansea City striker Bafetimbi Gomis needs to start doing his talking on the pitch after allowing himself to become caught up in transfer speculation.

Gomis only moved to the Liberty Stadium in the summer of 2014, having been snapped up by Garry Monk as a free agent.

He was, however, forced to play back-up to Wilfried Bony over the first-half of the season and struggled to find his rhythm during sporadic first-team outings.

The path has been cleared for him, though, by the sale of Bony to Manchester City and Hartson says the 29-year-old needs to knuckle down if he is to get supporters back on side and prove himself a worthy Premier League frontman.

Hartson told BBC Sport: "Gomis seems to be doing a lot of talking off the pitch, but certainly now he needs to start doing his talking on it. He has an opportunity now to show the fans. He gets the shirt, he'll play every week, no more Bony, and he's got a chance now.

"He's on big wages... he came from Lyon with a big reputation. I like him. He's different to Bony, he likes to run the channels, he's good in the air.

"But on Saturday [against Blackburn] I saw a performance from him that I thought was a little bit sloppy in possession, gave the ball away a lot, he never got into certain areas where he could attack the ball. I didn't think the service was brilliant to him, but by saying things like he has done he brings pressure on himself.”

Total Scoring Att

Ontarget Scoring Att

Duel Lost

Total Pass

Accurate Pass

Dispossessed

Goals

Appearances

Mins Played

Bafétimbi Gomis

34

5

70

184

153

11

1

18

697

Gomis was handed a lone striker role in FA Cup competition against Blackburn Rovers, but offered little as the Swans slumped to a 3-1 defeat against Championship opposition.

Chris Burton

Chris is a freelance journalist with a passion for all major sports. He has spent much of his career to date focusing on the wonderful world of football, across all levels. He has also had the pleasure of interviewing a diverse mix of sportsmen and women – including Gareth Bale, Frank Lampard, Xabi Alonso, Marcel Desailly, Roy Hodgson, Manu Tuilagi, Jonny Wilkinson, Nicola Adams and Ed Clancy.